Cboe BZX amends Rule 11.15 to allow non-Members as clearing firms
The amendment, effective upon filing on September 8 2026, permits non-Member broker-dealers to serve as clearing firms for BZX members.
On September 8, 2026, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. filed a proposed rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Release No. 34-106414; File No. SR-CboeBZX-2026-076). The filing, announced in a notice dated September 18, 2026, seeks immediate effectiveness of an amendment to Rule 11.15(a) (Clearance and Settlement; Anonymity).
The amendment revises the rule's language to replace the term "Member" with "firm" and "Clearing Member" with "Clearing Firm." The revised text states that a Member may clear transactions through "another firm that is a member of a Qualified Clearing Agency ('Clearing Firm')," and that such Clearing Firm must provide a written affirmation to the Exchange. This change is intended to clarify that a non-Member may act as a clearing firm for a Member.
The Exchange cites Section 6(b)(5) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as the statutory basis, arguing that the clarification promotes just and equitable principles of trade, removes impediments to a free market, and does not create unfair discrimination. The proposal aligns the rule with the 2015 amendment that first permitted non-Members to clear other Members' transactions.
Affiliate exchanges - Cboe BYX, Cboe EDGA, and Cboe EDGX - have filed parallel proposals (SR-CboeBYX-2026-033; SR-CboeEDGA-2026-029; SR-CboeEDGX-2026-061) to achieve the same clarification across the Cboe family of exchanges.
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